Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

and the events leading up to it - was a defining moment in their friendship and not necessarily a "happily ever alter" one. "There was a funk that day - and I can't even define what the word 'funk' is, but I don't know any other word for it," says Bailey in a hushed tone. "Heading out to that race and me thinking about him being on a Suzuki was so strange. There was something in the air going into that race, and seeing Johnny in another pit before we went out for· practice was so weird. During practice, I tried to jump something and r didn't make it and I wound up on the ground with a bunch of people surrounding me. At one point, everything pulled clear and r can clearly remember Johnny and Jeff Ward sitting on their motorcycles and looking at me from a distance, like, 'Something is screwed up here.' Johnny in particular was looking a t me like, What's taking you so long to get up?' "While I was laying there, I was thinking, ·'1 hope this doesn't mess him up.' From Hansen to Magoo to AI Baker, with all these people Johnny had been close with, something had gone wrong. And even though we all knew none of it was his fault, it really hurt him badly. From all that he and I had been through, and from being such good friends, I didn't want to be respcmsible for laking another part of the guy." Roger DeCoster was also aware of the harsh reality of the si tuation. Certainly no stranger to having things go wrong during his legendary career, this time he, too, was left wavering. "It was a big thing for Johnny, and it hit him really hard," DeCoster says. '1f r had been a rider at the time, it would have hit me hard as well. r was disgusted with it. After il happened, I thought to myself, What a stupid job I'm doing. I'm doing everything r can to motivate these kids to go faster, and the nicest kid gets hurt. It was such a bad feeling. I think Johnny was hurt by it more than anyone because he and David were so close - close like brothers." Long after David's catastrophic accident, things were never quite the same between the two. "That was another funk," says Bailey. "Johnny just couldn't relate. I think he was like, 'I'm doing this, and he's doing that.' It was never the same after that. Whenever [went to a race, r felt very elf-conscious, and r would see Johnny O'Mara, and he would come over and say, 'Hi, Dave,' and try to be nice, but r could feel that something was wrong, and I just hated it. The whole thing was killing both of us." ow, nearly 12 years after it all went wrong, O'Mara says, "It was real hard for me to see David and Magoo Chandler get hurt. I had been through a lot, seeing teammates and friends get injured, and then a year later AI Baker passed away. It left me with this huge scar that I had to deal with. All that toughened me up and made me realize how delicate the world is. I had no feelings because r went through so much and r just kept doing the o!1ly thing I ·knew how to: ride motorcycles and train." While·a lot of water has passed beneath the bridge, O'Mara still has very dear feelings for his friend and former comrade in arms. "We were so tight and always superclose. We don't spend as much time together now, but I have always considered him my best friend. He's special to me." 20 After three relatively uneventful years with Suzuki, O'Mara entered the twilight of his great career. Still not able to walk away from the sport he loved, O'Mo/a found help from a person that, only a few years back, he had disliked more than anyone else on the face of the earth: Jeff Ward. "In 1990, Johnny left Suzuki, and at the time I was doing all the testing on' the 250, the 500 and the supercross bike," says Ward. "r was getting pretty burned out by it all, so I went to Roy (Turner, Kawasaki's race-team manager) and talked to him about it. Later, he was in a meeting with one of the main Japanese guys and aid that Johnny would be good for the team because he can ride all day long and help set up the bikes and still be a contender for championships. They agreed and hired him." "1 knew I had a few years left in me and r wanted to walk away from the sport on a high note," says O'Mara. "r still wanted to be a part of it and be on the podium. r knew that would be enough for me to hold my head up. Suzuki was a big challenge and everybody knew that. I felt that I had a lot of knowledge about the motorcycles, and Jim Felt and I came over and helped their program out a lot. We developed the bike and got ilto a good level. I then spent the last few years on Kawasakis. r went to Kawasaki, and that brought a lot of fun back into it. r got really involved in testing and developing the Kawasakis, and I knew I was good at setting the bikes up. I didn't need the money, but I wanted to be a part of something. I had a lot of fun. Chicken (Jeff Matiasevich) and Wardy were on top of their game then, and they would say things like, 'We'll run what Johnny likes.' They liked what I picked out for them and I was still involved." O'Mara worked with Kawasaki for the entire season before moving on to another discipline of two-wheel competition that had always intrigued him: mountain-biking. "During the last two or three years of my career, I got into some other forms of athletics such as cycling, triathlons, marathons and mountain-biking. While I was racing, r became friends with John Parker of Yeti bicycles. He once told me that the day I retired from motocross, if I wanted it, I had a ride to ride in the mountain-bike national series. I took him up on it and raced as an Expertclass (rider), which was one level below the professional level. I had a lot of success and won half of the national that I entered and was the aliona! Champion in my fir t year, which was a huge accomplishment. The next year, [ moved up to the professional class and wasn't producing like I was before. I got frustrated because I wasn't getting the results 1 wanted, and 1 always had what I wanted in my career. I panicked a little bit, and at the same time Honda of Troy and [ came up with the idea to ride the AMA 12Scc Nationals. 1 jumped right into it and thought I could ride with them after three or four months of training." While mountain-biking fulfilled O'Mara's competitive urge, it just couldn't match the high-speed, premixfueled world of motocross - and so, in an effort to rekindle the magic o.ne more time, O'Mara and Honda of Troy overlord Phil Alderton, who was putting together an impressive support team at the time, concocted a clever scheme. "He got my number from Jim Hale at Axo and called me up," says Alderton in regard to the proposed O'Show comeback. ''We met in 1993 and I decided to sponsor him during his 12Scc comeback. He hurt his heel real bad in a practice crash, where he broke the heel of his foot into a million pieces. Johnny tried to come back, but physically he wasn't able to. We were very bummed, because before that, he was really riding good. When he was £inally able to ride again, he was only at about 60 percent because the foot was so tender. We were really disappointed, because he could have been a serious contender. We both had high expectations that year, and Johnny was such a hero, but it just didn't work out. However, one thing I am happy about is that today we are very good friends." Regarding the in-fated effort that ended in tears on a hot and humid day in Michigan, O'Mara says, "One day while practicing, r ran out of gas on a triple jump, came up short and shattered my heel. From that, even though 1 tried, there was no way I could come . back. 1 went to two nationals, and at Buchanan, Michigan, I rode practice, pulled in and said, '[ can't do it.' I didn't even go to the starting line. I knew then, at Buchanan, that r couldn't fool myself. [ was in tears and I took il personally. It took a great commitment to come back to the sport, and I really wanted to do it. But when 1 said 1 was done, my emotions were really running wild." While his on-track days were done, O'Mara found his way back into the port in another "fashion." Well-regarded among his peers, O'Mara crossed paths with a sponsor he had helped put on the motocross map back in the early 1980s: Oakley. . "Louis Wellen of Oakley, who took care of me while r was racing, told me that he didn't want to do motocross anymore. He said to me, 'Johnny, you do it.' r didn't know what to say, beca use I had never had a real job before. I went home a nd though t abou t it and the next day r told them, 'I'm going to do it!' They made the calls and [ was in at Oakley. I really like Oakley, and I'm now on my third year there. It's been a whole new road, and I've learned a lot. 1 don't know how long I'll continue to do it, but I'm still an Oakley employee. Jim Jannard is still a big motocross fan, and he loves Ricky (Carmichael). At the recent launch Oakley had to introduce their new shoe, he and R.c. talked for a long time, and it's apparent that motocross is still his first love. That's where he started, and he never forgot his roots:' Through Oakley, O'Mara came into contact with minicycle phenomenon Ricky Carmichael, who was at that point on the brink of entering the AMA professional ranks. "r first heard of R.c. when he was tearing up the amateur ranks," says O'Mara. "I had heard his name for a number of years, but [ didn't meet him until r took the Oakley job. He was already an Oakley-sponsored athlete, and he and r hit it off right away - we were instant buddies. We've had a good time, and I've watched him grow as a rider to where now he is unbelievable. But him being so successful isn't a surprise to me. He was born to be a motorcycle racer, and his winning is just part of it." Somehow, O'Mara has managed to come full circle. From hot up-and-comer to ational Champion, the battle-.hardened old pro now'works closely with 12Scc super talent Carmichael in an effort to optimize the young Seminole's remarkable talent. And what does the current AMA 12Sec aliona! Champion think of his tutor? "Louis Wellen of Oakley introduced him to me at the Orlando SupercrQss in 1996," says Carmichael. "1 knew who he was and 1 thought he was real cool. Johnny was working with Oakley and 1 was an Oakley oder, so we just started talking about things and got to become good friends. Johnny really helped me when I moved into the pro ranks. He gave me a lot of pointers and tips, and that really helped me a lot coming out of the amateur ranks. I really admire his discipline more than anything. He doesn't hound me too much. We're more friends than anything. He's also my trainer, but he doesn't push me too hard, although sometimes he bugs me to keep pushing. We have a lot of fun together."

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